Pune police have busted a job fraud racket that cheated unemployed youth by promising them recruitment as sub-engineers in the Indian Railways. A case has been registered against two accused, and one of them, Swapnil Murlidhar Gaikwad (33), has been arrested from Ahmedabad following a joint operation by Army Intelligence (Southern Command) and Pune Police.
The complainant, Dinesh Shankar Rathod (37), a resident of Ramnagar, Yerawada, alleged that the accused lured his relatives by claiming to have strong connections within the Railways and assuring confirmed appointments.
Gaikwad, a civil staff employee with the Defence Department currently posted in Ahmedabad, had earlier worked at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. The second accused named in the case is Sagar Digambar Patil (35) from Jalgaon district.
Police said Gaikwad falsely portrayed Patil as a person with influence in the Railways and collected money from the complainant and his relatives over several months, citing job-related expenses. Payments were made in cash, bank transfers, and UPI transactions, amounting to Rs19.15 lakh.
When the promised jobs failed to materialize and the accused began avoiding contact, the complainant approached Yerawada Police, leading to the registration of a cheating case.
Investigations revealed that at least three more individuals were similarly cheated. Police are now examining financial transactions, bank accounts, and call records to trace the money trail and identify additional victims.
